Monday, March 4, 2019

Alexander Posey, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) nation, and his family settled in the area now known as Bixby in the late 1800s. He founded a community that was initially known as "Posey on Posey Creek," and included two saloons, a blacksmith shop and a general store. The town became a government town site with a post office in 1895. Located in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Indian Territory, Bixby was named in honor of Tams Bixby, a chairman of the Dawes Commission. The original 80-acre (32 ha) town site plat was approved by the Dawes Commission in 1902. Many settlers were attracted to the area by the rich, though sometimes swampy river bottom land. In 1904 the Midland Valley Railroad laid tracks and built a depot about 1/2 mile north of the original town of Bixby. This created factions that briefly split Bixby into two towns. The new part of town was deliberately surveyed so that the new streets did not align with the existing ones. However, businesses in the original town soon moved to the new location and built permanent brick buildings there. Bixby incorporated as an independent, self-governing town in 1906, with a population of 400 and an area of 160 acres (0.25 sq mi). The first mayor, recorder and five aldermen were elected in February, 1907. In 1911, a two-story brick schoolhouse was built on Main Street. Bixby Central Elementary is now near the original site. A traffic bridge was built over the Arkansas River in 1911, and for a time was said to be the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River.

Page source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bixby,_Oklahoma

No comments:

Post a Comment